Evangelion: Ghost in the Machine
by Frontline
Summary: Do ghosts really exist? Shinji, Asuka and Rei are about to find out.


**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

'Maya, commence recording.'

'Yes, Ma'am.'

'EVA Synchronisation test 02. Captain Misato Katsurugi and Dr Ritsuko Akagi in attendance. Hyuga, commence Entry Plug Insertion.'

'Yes, Ma'am...Sequence commencing...'

'Maya, report status.

'00, condition nominal. 01, condition nominal. 02, condition nominal. All vital signs within typical parameters.'

'Very well. Commence initial synchronisation.'

'Yes, Ma'am...Synchronisation abnormalities indicated...'

'Very good. Commence cortical and stimulus tests...'

'Yes, Ma'am,' Hyuga said.

'They seem to be doing well...' Misato said, quietly and Dr Akagi nodded.

'Their performance is as we would have expected. 00's synchronisation ratio is superb and her focus is excellent...'

'From Rei, that's no surprise, but I'm worried about how insular she is...

'02 has a lot of potential,' Akagi continued, Misato frowning as she cut her off. 'When she's on form, her synchro rates equal that of 00, but she lacks patience...'

'Asuka's headstrong, it's true, but...'

'However, my concern is 01. His scores are barely average and he lacks confidence...'

'They do have names, you know,' Misato said. 'Shinji may be unassertive, but there's something about him...'

'If you say so...'

'You disagree...?'

'This is a critical and expensive project, Captain. Too critical in my view, to jeopardise based on your instincts...'

'Excuse me?' Misato began, just as Hyuga announced

'Test sequence complete, Ma'am.'

'...thank you, Hyuga. Collate the data and send the report to me', Misato said, moving towards the microphone and flipping it on.

'Alright, everyone. We're done for the day. Get yourselves changed and I'll drop you all home...'

'You should leave that to the NERV transport service...'

'They're my responsibility, Doctor,' Misato said, turning and stalking away.

#################

Rei shut off the shower and pulled aside the curtain, grabbing her towel and starting to dry her pale blue hair as she made her way to her locker.

'Hey,' Asuka snapped as she finished pulling her shirt over her head and brushing out her long, orange hair. 'You're not the only person changing here, you know. Put some damn clothes on...'

Rei ignored her, draping the towel over her shoulders and opening her locker

'Hey! I'm talking to you. You can't just walk around naked...'

'That is not my problem,' Rei said, unzipping her bag and grabbing her underwear, stepping into them and pulling them up. 'If you don't like it, you can wait outside...'

Asuka stared at her for a moment, before slamming her locker door and storming out. Rei quickly finished dressing and followed her outside. Asuka was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, glaring at Rei. She looked like she was going to say something more when Shinji emerged, glancing from one to the other.

'Uh...Asuka...is everything alright?'

'Shut up, Shinji,' Asuka snapped, pushing herself off from the wall and stalking towards the elevator at the end of the corridor.

'...okay,' Shinji said, moving to follow her just as the lights flickered and went out, the corridor illuminated by the pale glow of the emergency lights as they kicked in.

'What the hell...?' Asuka exclaimed, as the emergency lights kicked in.

'This section has lost power...' Rei began and Asuka rounded on her.

'Oh, really, First Child?' She snapped, stalking towards the elevator and punching the button. However, the doors stayed firmly shut.

'If the power is down, then the elevator won't work...,' Rei said.

'Listen,' Asuka started, stopping when she saw a woman in a white coat standing at the end of the corridor.

'About time...' She muttered, raising her voice. 'Hey. What's going on here?'

However, the woman ignored her, turning and walking away down the corridor.

'Hey!' Asuka yelled, jogging down the corridor after, stopping when she turned the corner. The corridor ahead of her was a dead end, but there was no sign of the woman.

'Where did she go?' Shinji asked and Asuka turned towards him.

'She must have gone down one of the other corridors...'

'...yeah, maybe...' Shinji said, looking down at his feet. 'Anyway, what are we going to do, now?'

'There is an emergency access shaft at the end of this corridor,' Rei said, starting down the darkened passage. 'We can use it to reach the control room...'

'I think we should wait for the power to come back on...' Shinji began, but Asuka cut him off with a snort.

'Are you scared...?'

'...no...'

'Come on, then,' Asuka said, striding into the corridor after Rei, her footsteps echoing off the walls.

'Who do you think that woman was?' Shinji asked and Asuka shrugged.

'How...how should I know?'

'Do you think it was a ghos...'

'There's no such thing as ghosts!' Asuka snapped, striding ahead of him to catch up to Rei as she turned the corner. In front of them was a hatch-like doorway, the letters EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT just visible in the gloom.

'This is it,' Rei said, approaching the hatchway and pulling out her access card, swiping it through the reader and punching in her passcode. Nothing happened for a moment and then the hatchway swung open with a hiss.

'Let's go,' Asuka said, stepping through the hatchway and starting to climb the ladder, followed by Shinji. Rei was about to follow them when she saw movement and the woman in white appeared at the end of the corridor, staring at her. She stood still for a second before walking towards them, her eyes fixed on Rei.

'Ayanami!' Shinji called. 'Come on...'

Rei hesitated for a second before climbing through the hatch and pulling it shut, following the others up the ladder. They were only halfway up when the woman in white stepped straight through the hatch and stopped, staring up at them.

'It's her,' Shinji yelled.

'I can see that!' Asuka snapped. 'Keep going.'

They reached the top of the ladder, Shinji opening the hatchway and he scrambled out, closely followed by Asuka and Rei, who shut the hatch behind them.

'W...what do we do now?' Shinji asked, just as Misato opened the door at the end of the corridor.

'Are you three alright?' She asked and Shinji glanced at Asuka.

'Ms Misato...we saw a ghost...'

'I told you, Shinji.' Asuka said. 'There's no such thing as ghosts...'

'...You'd better come into my office. There's something I need to tell you...'

################

'Sit down,' Misato said, gesturing to the couch by the window, Rei and Asuka deliberately sitting on either side of Shinji, pointedly ignoring the other.

'Tell me what you saw,' Misato said. 'Shinji?'

'We saw...a ghost,' he began and Asuka snorted.

'There's no such thing as ghosts...'

'Alright, Asuka. Tell me exactly what you saw...'

'It was...a woman dressed in a white coat, walking along the hall. I suppose, she was one of the technicians...'

'Then how d'you explain that she came through the hatchway...?' Shinji began and Asuka cut him off.

'Obviously, she must have opened it...'

'It wasn't open...'

'You...you don't know that. It was dark and...'

'The hatch didn't open,' Rei said, flatly. 'She walked through it...'

'That's not possible...'

'Alright. That's enough,' Misato said, leaning forward. 'I need you to listen to me. What I'm going to tell you must stay between us. Do you understand?'

'...okay,' Shinji said and Rei nodded. 'Yes.'

'Asuka?'

'Fine. Whatever...'

'Several years ago, when we were just starting the project, there was an...accident. Masa Nagatsuka was one of the early pioneers of the synchronisation technology and she volunteered to be the test subject for the initial trial. Everything was going fine until there was cortical feedback in the medics rushed her to the infirmary, where they pronounced her dead. A few days later, we started experiencing random malfunctions. Power outages, electrical shorts. That was when she was seen. Two researchers saw her walking down the corridor during the night shift. We dismissed it at first, but then other sightings occurred. She was seen appearing and disappearing, or walking through walls...'

'Are you saying she is a ghos...?'

'No, Shinji. Not exactly. Although you could say that she's a ghost in the machine. Somehow, during the synchronisation, an imprint of her mind was left in the computer. Over time, she learnt how to access our technology and generate a hologram of herself. Once we discovered what was going on, we isolated her on one of the floors, completely cutting it off from the rest of the base.'

'You trapped her down there?' Rei asked and Misato nodded.

'The project was at a critical phase and we couldn't afford for what happened to get out. But, she was able to continue her work. It's thanks to her that we were able to produce the EVA prototypes and perfect the synchronisation technology,' Misato finished, standing up.

'Anyway, it's best if you all forget about it. Come on, I'll drop you all home. It's late and you've all got school tomorrow...'

###############

'Are you alright?' Misato asked, as she pulled up outside Rei's apartment.

'Yes...'

'...alright. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day...'

'Yes, Ms Misato...' Rei said, reaching to open the car door. 'Ms Misato...?'

'Yes...'

'...nothing...'

'...alright...' She said, watching as Rei got out of the car and climbed the stairs to her apartment.

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms very welcome.**


End file.
